NOTE. 
THE Papers contained in this Volume have been read at 
various times before the Philosophical Society of Victoria, 
from its inauguration in August, 1854, to its amalgamation 
with the Victorian Institute, and this volume is the first and 
only one of the kind that has ever been issued in Victoria. 
Perhaps some of the Articles are not exactly similar in their 
character to the publications of like Societies in Europe, yet 
it is hoped that the many facts now collected in this form 
will be found useful to those whose pursuits are in any way 
connected with scientific investigations. 
The Papers refer chiefly to matters of practical import- 
ance to the colony, but as they also contain recent discove- 
ries in Geology, Botany, and Zoology, they will be read with 
equal interest in other countries, altogether apart from 
their value as records of the advances made by the Colony in 
these departments of science. 
The names of the various contributors are attached to their 
productions, and they are each individually responsible for 
their opinions—the Society, in no case, having pledged itself 
to supp>t or verify these opinions. 
It is\probable that trifling errors may be discovered in the 
text, but assome of the members were absent while their 
papers were passing through the press, these must not be too 
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